Material application to fishing lures possessing temperature sensitive chromaticity vicissitude creating a color changing fishing lure or rubber bait

ABSTRACT

A process where materials are applied to a plastic fishing lure surface, producing a lure that possesses chromatic vicissitude as a result of water temperature fluctuations. A non-thermochromatic base layer of one or more colors is applied to the plastic fishing lure. This layer acts as the visual appearance of the fishing lure in the absence of temperature fluctuations. Clear extender is then used as an additive to the thermochromatic ink. This addition to the ink then allows the ink to be sprayed onto the surface of the lure. This ink-extender amalgam can be applied in multiple layers however the bottom layer must have the least amount of hue saturation. Each layer thereafter would increase in hue saturation. Multiple hue combinations can be utilized. Once the desired number of thermochromatic layers has been applied, an ultra-clear super high gloss lacquer finish is sprayed on to the exterior of all layers.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/126,373, filed Sep. 10, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,455,820, which isa Continuation of Ser. No. 15/808,379, filed Nov. 9, 2017, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,070,635, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/370,241, filed Dec. 6, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,814,222, whichis a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/828,026, filedAug. 17, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,516,869, which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/316,417, filed Dec. 9, 2011, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,113,618, which claims the benefit of and priority under35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/422,152, filedDec. 11, 2010, entitled “Material Application to Fishing LuresPossessing Temperature Sensitive Chromaticity Vicissitude Crating aColor Changing Fishing Lure or Rubber Bait,” each of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

SUMMARY

This invention relates to the unique process by which a thermochromaticink is applied the surface of a plastic fishing lure.

A process where materials are applied to a plastic fishing lure surfaceis performed, producing a lure that possesses chromatic vicissitude as aresult of water temperature fluctuations. A non-thermochromatic baselayer of one or more colors is applied to the plastic fishing lure. Thislayer acts as the visual appearance of the fishing lure in the absenceof temperature fluctuations. Clear extender is then used as an additiveto the thermochromatic ink. This addition to the ink then allows the inkto be sprayed onto the surface of the lure. This ink-extender amalgamcan be applied in multiple layers however the bottom layer must have theleast amount of hue saturation. Each layer thereafter would increase inhue saturation. Multiple hue combinations can be utilized. Once thedesired number of thermochromatic layers has been applied, anultra-clear super high gloss lacquer finish is sprayed on to theexterior of all layers.

The employment of thermochromatic inks to produce color changing effectshas been previously utilized on fishing lures. These previous useshowever, have employed the application to the entirety of the lure. Theresult of this previous application is blocks of color. As it iscommonly understood, fishing lures are designed with the purpose ofresembling and moving like the prey of a fish. As the prey of fish neverappears in nature as blocks of color, this is problematic for thefisherman who is attempting to employ lures that have the maximum degreeof authenticity.

This particular process however, enables application in a manner thatproduces a gradient effect in addition to the chromatic vicissitude;that is more like that seen in nature, ergo, more life-like.Thermochromatic inks cannot be sprayed onto to a surface without theaddition of a thinning agent due to its thick viscosity. It would standto reason then that a process that allows the ink to be sprayed on in agradient pattern, versus a solid, achieves a more accurately realisticfinish. This results in attaining the design objectives of a fishinglure with exactitude and realism.

Aspects of the invention are directed toward:

-   -   1. A plastic fishing lure having materials applied to it in such        a manner that result in temperature sensitive chromatic        vicissitude and design required exactitude and realism.    -   2. The fishing lure of aspect 1, wherein a base or ‘primer’        layer of non-thermochromatic coating is applied to the plastic        body of the fishing lure in preparation for the application and        bonding of a thermochromatic ink layer.    -   3. The thermochromatic ink of aspect 2 is mixed with a clear        extender resulting in an ink-extender amalgam.    -   4. The ink-extender amalgam of aspect 3 is then applied to the        fishing lure of claim 1 in a sprayed on gradient on top of the        bonding layer of claim 2. This layer enables thermochromatic        sensitivity to water temperature variations and provides the        optic achievement of fish prey realism.    -   5. The ink-extender amalgam of aspect 3 is applied in one or        more layers with the bottom layer being of least amount of hue        saturation and each additional layer increasing with hue        saturation. Each layer possessing a different temperature        sensitivity.    -   6. Upon completion of the layers of aspect 5, the fishing lure        of claim 1 has a final layer of ultra clear super high gloss        lacquer finish sprayed upon it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary fishing lure in accordance with anaspect of the invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of a surface of the fishing lurecoated with one base layer of non-thermochromatic ink and multiplelayers of thermochromatic ink of different colors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an illustration of a standard fishing lure that will bespray coated with multiple layers of thermochromatic ink-extenderamalgam and a single base layer of non-thermochromatic coating. Althoughstandard fishing lures come in various sizes, shapes, and hardness, theywill be coated with similar gradient patterns and designs.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary fishing lure 10. The fishing lure 10 includesan upper body 1. The exemplary fishing lure includes eyes 20, mouthlines 30, gill lines 40, fins and scale markings and one or more hooks50.

The upper body 1 of the top portion 60 of the fishing lure 10 will becoated with a thermochromatic ink-extender amalgam in a gradientpattern. The gradient pattern will start solid and will fade in opacityas the coating traverses the body of the lure. The gradient effect willstop halfway to two-thirds of the way down the body of the lure. Thegradient effect on the lure will consist of multiple layers ofthermochromatic ink-extender amalgam and one non-thermochromatic layerof different colors. The layering of the gradient pattern will allow thelure to possess color changing properties in response to watertemperature changes.

Further details will be added to the standard lure such as the eyes 20,mouth lines 30, gill lines 40, fins and scale markings, etc., usingnon-thermochromatic ink for a more realistic effect.

Using these details on the lure 10, in addition to the color changinggradient effect, will allow the lure to resemble actual prey to predatorfish.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross section of the surface of a standard fishinglure coated with one base layer of non-thermochromatic ink and multiplelayers of thermochromatic ink of different colors.

-   Label 3 shows a cross section of the bottom layer of the top portion    of a standard fishing lure.

This layer will be coated with a layer of non-thermochromatic ink andwill be the base layer of the fishing lure.

-   Label 4 shows a layer of thermochromatic ink-extender amalgam on top    of the base layer 3 that will be transparent or solid depending on    the temperature of the water. If this ink-extender amalgam layer is    in the transparent state then it will expose the base    non-thermochromatic layer. If this layer is in the solid state then    it will cover the base non-thermochromatic layer.-   Label 5 shows a layer of thermochromatic ink-extender amalgam on top    of another ink-extender amalgam layer that will be transparent or    solid depending upon the temperature of the water. If this amalgam    layer is in the transparent state, then it will expose the    underlying amalgam layer. If this layer is in the solid state, then    it will cover the underlying amalgam layer. Each    thermochromatic-extender layer will react at a different temperature    than the previous or underlying thermochromatic-extender layer.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A lure comprising: aplastic fish-shaped body; a base layer on a portion of the body, thebase layer including non-thermochromatic ink; a first ink layer providedover at least a portion of the base layer, the first ink layercomprising a first thermochromatic ink, and the first thermochromaticink is provided in at least a pattern wherein the first thermochromaticink has differing opacities at differing locations on the body, andwherein the first thermochromatic ink is provided on a portion of thebody and a remainder portion of the body is covered anon-thermochromatic ink; and one or more of eyes, mouth lines, gilllines, fin markings, and scale markings provided on the body innon-thermochromatic ink; and wherein the first thermochromatic ink isonly transparent when the first thermochromatic ink is at a firsttemperature, and the first thermochromatic ink reveals at least one ofthe base layer and a second ink layer at the first temperature.
 2. Thelure of claim 1, wherein the second ink layer is a different color thanthe first ink layer.
 3. The lure of claim 1, wherein the firstthermochromatic ink is mixed with a clear extender resulting in anink-extender amalgam.
 4. The lure of claim 3, wherein the pattern of thefirst ink layer on the lure comprises the thermochromatic ink-extenderamalgam and one non-thermochromatic ink of a different color than theamalgam.
 5. The lure of claim 4, wherein the base layer is of a leastamount of hue saturation.
 6. The lure of claim 1, further comprising atop layer of ultra-clear super high gloss lacquer finish.
 7. The lure ofclaim 1, further comprising one or more hooks.
 8. The lure of claim 1,wherein the pattern stops between halfway and two-thirds of a way downthe body of the lure.
 9. The lure of claim 1, wherein the base layer ofthe lure includes the non-thermochromatic ink in one or more colors. 10.The lure of claim 9, wherein a portion of the base layer is not visiblewhen the first ink layer is in a solid state.
 11. The lure of claim 1,wherein each of the first and the second ink layers reacts at adifferent temperature.
 12. The lure of claim 1, wherein the firstthermochromatic ink is in a solid state when the first thermochromaticink is at a temperature other than the first temperature.
 13. The lureof claim 1, wherein at one of the first and a second temperature, thesecond ink layer is transparent.
 14. The lure of claim 1, wherein at oneof the first and a second temperature, the second ink layer is opaque.15. The lure of claim 1, wherein the one or more of eyes, mouth lines,gill lines, fin markings, and scale markings resemble a fish.
 16. Thelure of claim 1, wherein each of the first ink layer and the second inklayer has a different hue saturation.
 17. A fishing lure comprising: afish-shaped plastic body; a base layer coating a portion of the body,the base layer comprising a non-thermochromatic ink of a first color; aplurality of thermochromatic ink layers provided on at least a portionof the base layer, each of the plurality of thermochromatic ink layersbeing of a different color than the base layer; at least one of theplurality of thermochromatic ink layers provided in a pattern, thepattern providing a change in opacity along the body and wherein a firstthermochromatic ink layer extends over a portion of the body such thatonly a portion of the first thermochromatic ink layer comprises a colorchanging effect in response to a temperature change of the body; and oneor more of eyes, mouth lines, gill lines and fin and scale markings onthe body in non-thermochromatic ink.
 18. The lure of claim 17, whereinthe pattern stops between halfway and two-thirds of a way down the bodyof the lure.
 19. The lure of claim 18, wherein a portion of the baselayer is visible.
 20. A method of making a fishing lure devicecomprising: providing a plastic body; providing at least one hookattached to the body; applying a base layer coating to at least aportion of the body, the base layer comprising non-thermochromatic inkin a first color; applying a plurality of thermochromatic ink layers onat least a portion of the base layer, wherein each of the plurality ofthermochromatic ink layers is a different color than the first color,wherein at least one of the plurality of thermochromatic ink layers areapplied at least in part in a gradient pattern on the base layer, thegradient pattern changing in opacity along the body and wherein a firstthermochromatic ink layer extends over a portion of the body such thatonly a portion of the body displays a color change response to atemperature change; and applying one or more of eyes, mouth lines, gilllines, fin markings and scale markings on the body innon-thermochromatic ink.